the initium foundation (riga) in collaboration with the australian latvian theatre company presents
by baņuta rubess
Dickens Street - The Other
16 - 20 JANUARY | DICKENS STREET, ST KILDA
Dickens Street - The Other
VENUE
by baņuta rubess
Opening nights are dramatic, but this one takes the cake. It’s the premiere of a Latvian classic, Princess Gundega and King Bushybeard, and the star of the show goes missing. Join the immersive production of DICKENS STREET - THE OTHER and follow the trail through the Melbourne Latvian House as the ensemble struggles to make the show go on.
This is a bilingual show based on interviews with the Latvian community across Australia. It's performed by a mix of theatre artists from Melbourne, Riga and Toronto, created together with the Latvian community ensemble which has been going strong ever since the doors opened at the Latvian House on Dickens Street. After the carnage of war and forced migration, Latvians in St. Kilda harnessed their endorphin-releasing powers of song, dance, and drama to cure their PTSD’.
The songs these refugees taught their children were packed full of sustainability instructions,like harvesting healing herbs, or forest foraging and remedies for depression if you lost your pony. Quaint and folksy then, today they’re stunning green living codes. Nevertheless, over the years, the strain of sustaining their ancestral practices amidst a dominant culture caused cracks in the community. And that's why, on opening night, the star of the show runs away.
Audiences will follow the Understudy; her dad the Old Timer, or the Boyfriend as they wend their way through the building on Dickens Street.
We guarantee everyone will learn the best way of sticking your anxiety under a rock.
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TICKETS ARE PRE-SALE ONLY. NO SALES ON THE DOOR.
Latvian House, 3 Dickens Street, St Kilda
TICKETS ARE PRE-SALE ONLY. NO SALES ON THE DOOR.
DURATION
80 Minutes
WARNINGS
Suitable for All Ages
TICKETS ARE PRE-SALE ONLY. NO SALES ON THE DOOR.
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessible Tickets: This ticket is for patrons who need a physically accessible pathway throughout the travelling show. This is available across all shows but with limited places (*7 available per show). Please ensure you book this ticket in advance if you require a physically accessible pathway.
DATES + TIMES
Tuesday 16 January - 7:30pm
Wednesday 17 January - 7:30pm
Thursday 18 January - 7:30pm
Friday 19 January - 7:30pm
Saturday 20 January - 7:30pm
Theatre Works has a lockout policy for latecomers. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to ensure you don't miss out.
Refunds will not be issued to latecomers.
TICKETS
FULL PRICE
$45.00
CONCESSION*
$35.00
PREVIEW
$28.00
20 at $20**
$20.00
MOB TIX
$20.00
*Seniors, Student, MEAA, Health Care and Low Income card holders
**Limited to 20 tickets per performance
Our AT THEATRE WORKS program is for artists, companies or works that align with some but not all of our values as an organisation. We co-present these works with the independent artists and organisations. Works within this programming stream receive marketing support, technical support, free venue use and a generous box office split but largely we give them the keys and get out of their way.
CREDITS
DIRECTOR
Baņuta Rubess
CREATED WITH THE ENSEMBLE
MUSICAL DIRECTOR/COMPOSER
Jēkabs Nīmanis
SET DESIGN
Katrīna Neiburga
MEET THE ARTIST -
The INITIUM Foundation
Since 2018, the INITIUM foundation has actively focused on community art and contemporary community theatre. Having introduced this method to Latvian professional artists, community representatives and culture producers, training initiatives and professional productions of various formats have been created throughout Latvia and the Baltic States. The community theatre movement in Latvia started with Latvian Stories. Shakespeare meets Blaumanis a wide-ranging Latvian Centenary Celebrations project and continues with larger-scale training projects and productions on a Baltic scale with BATS (The Baltic Applied Theatre School). The INITIUM foundation’s focus is diverse - covering geographical and social communities, paying special attention to work with intergenerational connections and the use of contemporary art to influence various societal processes. Another key interest is working with young artists together with local artists and international teams.
The performance is devised and the text is written by Baņuta Rubess. She is a theatre artist and writer who pioneered feminist theatre, diaspora theatre, and contemporary opera to national renown in Canada and Latvia. She has lived in four countries and writes in two languages. Currently she is writing a book about the personal cost of surveillance, titled Tell No One.
